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Randy Cassingham's BlogHistorical Details and Author's Notes from This is True®
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Out My Window: a Golden Eagle
I just love my job. Even though I "have to" work Sundays, I really have a gorgeous view out my window, and I sometimes see the most amazing things.
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Like the two times I saw bobcats. The first time, it was clearly stalking, and suddenly it took off at incredible speed, probably after a rabbit.
(There are a lot of rabbits, too. During mating season they can be pretty hysterical, running big circles around the house -- again, and again, and again, catching my eye as they go by the bank of windows to the south that let in the sun, and the view of the mountains.)
My regular view isn't bad, either: to the south, the San Juan range, with towering (14,150 ft -- 4,312 m) Mt. Sneffels (named after the volcano Snæfell in Iceland) smack in the middle. To the southwest, the Cimarrons, an offshoot of the San Juans, feature terrifically rugged peaks. Where the two meet is Ouray, tucked into a tiny valley surrounded by sheer cliffs.
And that's what I see out my window every day.
But the wildlife is pretty nice too, as I mentioned. This afternoon, my wife said she saw an eagle out the window, but wasn't sure if it was a Bald or a Golden. I missed it, but was sitting at my desk when I saw a huge bird swoop in and land atop a pinion pine tree, at most 100' from my window. I quietly called downstairs for Kit to come up and see it. And I grabbed my camera:
Kit got a look too, and then it took off and let us see its magnificent wingspan:
...and then it circled around to let me get a "face" shot:
All taken with my little point-and-shoot digital camera.
We have seen Bald eagles around here, though they're mostly closer to the river. This one's a Golden. Yeah, it's pretty tough to work here, but sorry: I don't think I'll trade with anyone.
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Most Recent Comments
Posted by Jay, Texas on March 7, 2009:
Wow, cool pictures Randy.
We have some eagles that live about an hour west of where I live in Texas. We saw them a couple of years ago when we took a drive out that way for the wild flowers.
My absolute coolest eagle sighting was near Juno, Alaska. We saw many bald eagles on that trip but this was way cool to see. My wife and I were on a whale watching excursion and the guide pointed out an eagle in the ocean. It had caught a fish but could not take off because of the weight of the fish I assume. It swam, using its wings, about 50 yards (I am guessing) to the shore with the fish in its talons. It then drug the fish up onto the beach a good ten yards and proceeded to eat it. By the way, we were told that when an eagle gets its feathers wet it cannot fly again until they are dry.
Posted by John, Massachusetts on March 8, 2009:
Nice pics/account, Randy. It's good to know that you not only keep your "ear to the ground" on things newsworthy, but also keep your eyes open to your natural surroundings and care enough to share that, too.
Posted by John, Seattle on March 11, 2009:
Quick thinking to grab your camera and snap a few pictures when you have the chance!
In Seattle (I'm 5 miles from Seatac Int'l Airport) we have a lot of eagles, hawks, falcons etc. But people are so busy they don't even notice. I have interacted with them a few times, (imitating their call, etc) and find them very curious, and unafraid (but cautious). My best experience was when I was driving down a small 2 lane road (in the city) in my pickup and a bald eagle swooped down in front of my truck and flew with me about 8 feet off of the ground for about 3 blocks. He looked over at me more than once (at my face! Not just at my truck) and then flew off! A 10 foot wingspan looks HUGE when it covers most of the road you're driving on!